Scott Giannotti, Founder CHA

Kick the tires and light the fires. Florida has taken some measure to legalize a strain of cannabis known as "Charlotte's Web" that we have featured on our "LEARN" page in the past. Over 120,000 epilepsy sufferers will now be served along with ALS and cancer sufferers. Far from a recreational or full blown medical bill but it is a victory nonetheless. Credit to Gov. Rick Scott for making it clear to the world that cannabis is a vital treatment for patients suffering from (3) harsh illnesses. For a bi-partisan state like Florida, passing legislation in favor of any form of cannabis, in my opinion was a major step forward. Gov. Cuomo in New York is on the precipice of passing the Compassionate Care Act in NYC over the next day or so. We are looking at a bill known often as the Gottfried-Savino bill that has been getting limited in many ways since it's inception, some activists have even gone as far as to say the bill has been stripped apart. I've been in political circles with cannabis activists and advocates; I have heard many emotionally charged debates for cannabis legalization. CHA firms stands behinds cannabis as a medicine and industrial use however we do recognize the vast majority of Americans have never even tried cannabis as a recreational drug. While we are for personal liberty and freedom, as a responsible American I am concerned to a degree with what a world with legal cannabis will look like. Frankly, none of us really know. Sure we've seen Colorado, Washington, and California's culture take off and for the most part it looks very promising. What have not seen however are the media explosions that will occur to drive the cannabis lifestyle here in the US or anywhere else. Even Uruguay, the only country with a Federally regulated cannabis business, does not have a fully legal private sector with marketing driven messages being dispersed to the population. Sure I want cannabis to be free and legal however I just hope that some cannabis activists and advocates stop and think for a moment about how media will portray cannabis once it is mass marketed. The reality that cannabis will go from being in the shadows to IN YOUR FACE like it or not. Cannabis will be thrust in the face of those who it may not be healthy for. Not everyone is cut out for using cannabis and in fact the only Federal cannabis farm in the nation, at the University of Mississippi is spending $3 out of every $4 dollars on researching fighting cannabis addiction.

Video of the United States Federal Cannabis Research Program

If the Government's spending 75% on all its funding on fighting addiction common sense tells me we are getting closer and closer to a fully legalized cannabis system. Sooner or later cannabis will be completely legal and it will be the most marketable news everywhere. It's important that people understand that are for cannabis that legalization is not a question of "if this will happen?" the question is "when it will happen?" When it does happen cannabis activists and advocates will get the pleasure of personal liberty and freedom of their favorite recreation but at the same time it is very possible that many people will get caught in the hype and their lives may be negatively impacted forever. Reality is cannabis won't kill you, but I have seen people use it as a gateway drug plenty of times. People who started clean, then smoked pot as their first experience with drugs, progressed into this and that, next thing you know they are on heroin. I don't know if they wouldn't have ended up on heroin anyway, I'd like to believe that cannabis had nothing to do with it. Truth is I know 10x more heroin addicts that use cannabis as a means for staying sober so I can argue that cannabis is doing more good than harm. I just don't want to see little kids getting their hands on cannabis too young. I've done many studies on the brain and have concerns on what smoking cannabis too young or eating edibles or vaping too young etc can do. Can I be for legalization and still have concerns? Can I be responsible and objective in the debate? Well that's what I do. Just think about what it will be like when we have CTV "Cannabis TV" and cars powered on hemp gasoline and homes built with hempcrete, and our athletes and leaders are all advocating. How many more people will become cannabis users? And if they did, would that be a bad thing? Do activists really think about this stuff? I don't know but I hope this blog post made you think a little deeper than "I want my weed and I want it now!"

Below is a copy of the Compassionate Care Act currently under review in Albany NY by Governor Cuomo